Monthly Archives: August 2016

The integration of technology within our lives and homes has given rise to the procurement of devices and solutions that would not be commonplace a decade ago. Security cameras, network-attached storage (NAS), smart doorbells, and connected thermostats are just some of the examples of solutions that have become mainstream and may be found in the wild. For devices that are passively cooled via their housing or integrated heat sinks, utilization is never an issue until the device is no longer usable. For NAS units and switches that they may be connected to, active cooling via fans that are directly connected to the motherboard can contribute to the amount of noise encountered within a given room.

Our previous switch, which was a twenty-four port HP Enterprise V1910, had a 40mm Delta cooling fan installed. The speed and design of this cooling element made it intolerable to remain within close proximity. With a little research, it was determined that the Noctua NF-A4x10 would serve as a viable and quiet replacement for the offending Delta unit. Installation using the Scotch locks was seamless, and it took multiple checks to confirm that the fan was running. This level of silence is what consumers should be able to consistently expect for solutions that may be near living areas where the noise can be grating.

We undertook a comparable exercise this morning with a Ubiquiti Networks UniFi Security Gateway Pro 4 (USG-PRO-4) unit that was sitting at the top of our rack. The default AVC fans that are installed in the unit (DS04020B12L – Quantity of 2) were exceptionally shrill and high-pitched during the pre-rack setup process that was performed to modify the default address. The following thread confirms that we are not alone in experiencing this phenomenon. The initial effort of using the BlackNoise BlackSilent PM-2 fans (3800 RPM) to replace the offending AVC units (~4500 RPM) was a fifteen minute exercise that provided results that exceeded expectations. High-pitched whines are eliminated without compromising cooling capability. The “loudest noise” in the room has transitioned from the USG-PRO-4 to the pair of UniFi US-24-250W switches. As each switch contains two equally offensive Delta fans, the procedure will be worthwhile to undertake.

In the consumer space, the cost differential between a sub-par fan and a noise optimized fan equates to a few dollars. It would be far superior for manufacturers to account for outlying applications of their products and incorporate an improved cooling solution at the factory. The ability of large organizations with massive and diverse supply chains to obtain an upgraded fan at a reduced cost is a reality. The ability for individuals to procure the same cooling product at a reasonable price is fairly slim. Depending on vendor, replacement solutions from manufacturers such as Noctua or BlackNoise fetch a price of approximately $15 USD. Multiply this cost by the total number of fans per device and reducing the noise pollution can quickly become an expensive proposition. Worse yet, if a competing product with equivalent functionality and a superior cooling solution ends up being less expensive than the desired product plus fees to replace existing fans, then revenue may be lost.

Since our last post, there have been a number of developments from a number of vendors that have or will soon unleash new products that fulfill competitive gaps. Many exciting developments have been unleashed by AMD throughout this year. The introduction of their RX-series GPUs have ushered in very affordable performance for a broad demographic. The top end of the stack addressed moderate visualization needs at 1080p and 1440p resolutions for a reasonable cost and viable power utilization model. While the top-end RX480 did suffer from power draw issues that exceeded specifications for the slot or the 6-pin power, a fix was delivered via software.

After releasing the multiple solutions in the consumer space and teasing the future in the professional space via the Radeon Pro SSG, AMD upped the ante by unleashing a controlled demonstration that placed its upcoming Zen solution against Intel’s high-end desktop platform. Although there were many variables in place to make the comparison as “apples to apples” as possible, there are still some unknowns as to how the final retail product will be configured and perform. With Intel launching their Kaby Lake-based processors later this year, Zen needs to hit the market in a more aggressive manner to improve the market for consumers. If performance of Zen remains within a stone’s throw of Intel’s portfolio at a non-trivial cost savings, it may provide enough value to incur growth in the PC market and force Intel to compete with comparable core counts to justify an entirely new upgrade cycle.

In the area of storage, the major players in the traditional hard drive space have ten terabyte offerings available. Seagate’s showing in this space has garnered some positive impressions. While Seagate’s reputation within various communities is less than favorable due to repeated mishaps and cut corners that negatively impact the perception of the quality of their product, the performance of such a large drive is impressive. Is there a valid use case for this much capacity within a home setting? Perhaps. If a household is storing RAW images captured via a DSLR camera, a pair of these drives in a NAS or a PC may fit the bill and provide room for growth. Backing up that much data off premise via a cloud provider may present its own challenges with respect to bandwidth caps that are enforced by ISPs.